Pack Rules
by StingSpring
Summary: Nick is beginning to accept his new life as a Grimm and a cop (with the help of his buddy Monroe of course), but what will happen when his older brother comes to town with startling news and unexpected guests? Will Nick's new Grimm status be accepted? Answer to Grimm challenge posted by elvesknightren. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** This is my first story here on good old Fanfiction so readers, get ready to review! Hope you enjoy the first part of the story:)

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Grimm nor any of the characters, but would be happy to own it in the future;)

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"Hold it, stop!" Nick yelled after the wesen, quickly running after him. Nick caught sight of Monroe running with him off to his right.

_So much for a wesen-free guy's night out_, Nick thought. The two friends had been having drinks after a long case when Nick had seen the little creep trying to drug a girl's cocktail when she wasn't looking. He had gotten up and casually walked over to the man's side of the bar.

"Mind telling me what you're putting in your friends drink?" Nick had asked allowing his badge to be seen from his belt.

"Oh, I'm just coating the rim with sugar" The man said calmly.

"Well then I'm sure you wouldn't mind me taking some of that sugar for myself then?" Nick replied back with a knowing smile.

"But, you're drinking a beer" he said confused. "I know, I thought I might save it for my coffee tomorrow morning down at the PPD" Nick said watching a quick flash of panic light up in the man's eyes and his face changed into that of a ziegevolk's.

"GRIMM!" he yelled, pushing Nick into a waitress carrying a tray full of drinks and running out the door. Cursing, Nick apologized to the lady, called Monroe, and ran after the guy hot in pursuit.

"Man, this guy is fast!" Monroe panted out while jumping over a garbage can. "What do you say we use some Grimm power and get this over with?"

"Monroe I've only got a gun with me, what do you want me to do, shoot him?" Nick said between breaths.

"Sure, do something, I can only dodge so many pedestrians!" he said, swerving just before he hit a woman coming out of a store. Nick realized he was right; they were going to lose him if they kept up this chase. He was about to fire his gun when the ziegevolk made a sharp right straight into an ally.

Aiming his gun, Nick yelled "Face the wall and put your hands behind your back! I'm placing you under arrest for attempted drugging and assault of an officer!" when the zeigevolk complied, he walked up, returned his gun to its holster, and began the process of handcuffing the perp. It all went wrong when the ziegevolk head-butted Nick then grabbed his head and crashed it into the wall.

Seeing Nick fall to the ground, Monroe jumped in fully woged and knocked the other wesen out with a punch.

"Nick! Nick, can you hear me?!" Monroe checked his pulse and found it steady. He sighed in relief, "Guess it's another trip to the hospital for you buddy, but how will we get there" he sat for a moment thinking, then sighing; he reached down and picked Nick up. _He's gonna give me hell for this,_ Monroe thought beginning the long walk to the hospital.

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**Another Author's Note:** If nobody noticed, that was me begging in the first authors note for a review. Please.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is chapter two! Thank you for all the follows and general reactions to this story so far! I hope you continue to enjoy and review!**

**Usual Disclaimer:** I own nothing... pretty sad right?

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Nick slowly awoke to white walls, blurry vision, and a pounding headache. There was an all too familiar beeping to his left and he groaned, _just what I need, another hospital visit_. He tried to sit up but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Nick squinted against the bright light in the room, "Monroe?"

"Who else seems to save your butt every other week?" Monroe asked

Groaning, Nick held his head. "What happened?"

"Well, if you want the summarized version, we were chasing a wesen and you were about to arrest him when he mashed your head against the wall and you went down unconscious. Then I carried you here to the hospital and..."

"Wait" Nick's brain did not want to cooperate with him, "you _carried_ me into the hospital?" He asked, embarrassed. _Aunt Marie is probably turning over in her grave right now…_

"Well yeah, I mean you were kinda, you know, out of it so I had to carry you." Monroe replied helpfully.

"Why didn't you call for an ambulance?!"

"Oh! Yeah, I left my phone in my car and yours was, once again, dead. I really don't see what the big deal is, I didn't have my car and you were out cold on the floor of a very dark alley, now that is just asking for trouble, not to mention you being a Grimm and all…"

Their conversation immediately stopped when the doctor knocked and walked in. "Good to see you awake Detective Burkhardt, how do you feel?"

Nick gave the question some serious thought which he found was pretty hard to do, his brain just felt disconnected from his body, "I feel great, when can I go home?"

"Oh, I think you'll at least have to stay overnight Detective, especially since this is not your first concussion" The doctor replied.

_Oh, well that explains why everyone looks so fuzzy, _thought Nick. Wow his head was really starting to _hurt_. "Actually I'm starting to feel a lot better" Nick said in a final attempt at freedom.

"We'll see after I run some tests; you do seem to be more aware than I originally thought you would be. Try drinking some water; it may help clear your thoughts and get that slur under control."

Monroe smirked at Nick when the doctor left. "Yeah, that begging right there, not your best show of masculinity." Nick's only reply was to attempt a glare at his very fuzzy friend and start trying to reconnect his brain so he could get out of the hospital ASAP.

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Jason stepped off the bus and took in his surroundings. After a crazy road trip, one answered and several unanswered calls from his mom, and much awkward small-talk with the residents later, he had reached his final destination. Portland, P-Town, Portlandia; the place his little brother had decided to move to, which just happened to be located all the way across the country from Rhinebeck, New York. _Well you made it, now it's time to find the little shrimp._

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Nick's phone would not stop buzzing; Monroe was really starting to regret resuscitating the damn thing_. _In the middle of fumbling for the silence button, Monroe saw the caller, guy named Jason. He denied the call and turned the phone off; Nick was starting to wake up.

"Whaddya doin?" he said sleepily.

"Just pressing snooze buddy, go back to sleep" Monroe answered. He didn't want his friend to be disturbed, the poor guy needed rest. The whole morning was all tests, MRI'S, CAT scans; the whole package. He was anxiously awaiting the results; over the year that he's been pestered by Nick, he had begun to think of the Grimm as 'pack.' He didn't know when it started or even how it started, but instead of having the normal instinct he's sure his dad would love him to have and just kill the vulnerable Grimm, he instead feels the instinct to protect his pack member from anything or anyone that poses a threat.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Nick groan and saw him sitting up. "Wow, look at sleeping beauty finally awake!"

"Piss off" was Nick's only reply.

"No slurring either and your mood is definitely improving. I think you're pretty much fully recovered; I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, if it wasn't for that gigantic bruise on your forehead that is."

Nick felt his forehead, "It's not that bad" he said with a slight frown.

"Whatever you say buddy…Oh look, the doctors back."

"Good afternoon Detective, you seem to be doing much better. How are you feeling today?"

"I feel great, a hundred percent, totally recovered!" Nick replied

"That's good although I would hold back on the hundred percent part. You're brain doesn't seem to be under any pressure or in any immediate danger, but you still suffered a mild concussion and we want to keep observation for another few hours only because this is not your first concussion. I must say though, you are either very lucky or an astounding healer to be able to come out of this one unscathed. You should be discharged at around 3:00pm."

"Ok, thanks doc" Monroe replied as the door closed. "Well that's good news isn't it? Only five more hours and you don't even have any lasting side effects!"

"Yeah" Nick spotted his cell phone in Monroe's hand and decided it was time to see what he's missed in the hours that he was unconscious. "Have I gotten any calls from Hank or the Captain?"

"You got four calls from Hank answered by yours truly and two unanswered calls from the Captain, I don't know why, but I just get a creepy vibe from that guy. Anyways, Hank promised to get the info to him and spare me the unnecessary stress. Oh and this guy called Jason won't stop calling."

"Wait, Jason? Let me see my phone" Nick quickly turned on his phone.

"Who is this guy, a buddy from the good old normal days?" Monroe asked.

Nick's eyes looked far away when he replied, "Something like that, he's my brother."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody! Thank you for the wonderful reviews, favorites, and follows so far. This chapter will have much to reveal so tell me what you think!**

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Jason couldn't stop drumming his fingers on the table. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten that last coffee knowing what caffeine does to him. He had been waiting for a reply from his little brother for over an hour now and was just waiting for the coffee shop he was spending his time in to finally tell him to get lost, but Portland is apparently run differently than New York. Where the hell was he anyways? He was sure that this was the right number, he could always check with the police department, but he didn't really want to get into any contact with the cops just yet. Then his cell rang. "Oh thank God… Nick? Where the hell have you been? I've been worried sick! Why haven't you answered your phone? Geez, I mean that's why you bought the damn thing anyways right?"

"_Well hello to you too Jason, how've you been?"_

"How've I been? What the hell Nick, do you know how much caffeine I have consumed out of worry for you in the past hour? Where are you, I'm coming to see you."

"_Please forgive me mother, I must've missed you're twentieth call, and doesn't caffeine give you anxiety or something?"_

Nick's tone was full of sarcasm, wait, his little brother didn't use sarcasm. "Stop evading the question, you're going to have to face me sooner or later."

"_Fine, but I don't want you to freak out…anymore at least. I'm in the hospital," _Nick said somewhat hesitantly.

"WHAT, give me the address, I'll be there in ten."

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Nick winced when the angry and very loud voice of his brother rattled his brain. He told him where the hospital was and got off the phone.

"Sooo… you're brother, huh?" Monroe asked "I thought you didn't have any family left?"

"My foster brother; after my parents died and my aunt was unable to take care of me, I was put into foster care. Anthony and Christiana Moore took me into their family when I was twelve and always treated me like one of their own. Jason was an only child and fifteen at the time; he handled the new addition to the household rather well for a teenager now that I think about it, but it took him a couple months to finally start treating me like a member of the family. It was right after these jerks had pushed me around and he stood up for me, it kind of turned into a brawl and I had stopped a kid that was about to hit Jason from behind. He never forgot about that," he said, smiling at some unknown memory. "They helped me deal with my parents' death and create a life for myself, I don't know what I would've done without them," Nick finished, lost in thought.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that man, but at least you found people who were able to take care of you and it seems like Jason is definitely still protective," Monroe reassured.

"Yeah, Jason's great, he really taught me how to fight off the 'predators' at school, you know?"

"I think I understand what you mean" Monroe said thinking of his own troubled past when he froze. He smelled something, something that was sending alarm signals to his brain and waking up a part of him he worked so hard every day trying to hide. He smelled another Blutbad and it was coming this way.

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Nick noticed from the corner of his eye Monroe tense up and stare at the door.

"What is it?" he asked. Then everything seemed to happen very quickly. Monroe stood and backed up so he was almost covering Nick from the door with low, menacing growls coming from his chest.

The door opened and in walked Jason; the first thing Jason seemed to notice was Nick because his expression was filled with concern. Then he seemed to notice the very _big _man hovering over his little brother and even under normal circumstances, that would've required serious investigating, but then he caught a scent that enraged the beast inside and he couldn't help but woge and watch the other Blutbad woge too, ready to protect the injured member of his pack.

Nick watched Monroe woge and panicked; what was Monroe doing?! He quickly looked at Jason but whatever he was about to say died on his tongue because his big, completely human brother that he looked up to all these years had just turned into a Blutbad.

He looked in shock trying to comprehend what he was seeing, it was taking a while (thanks concussion) while in the meantime, the two Blutbaden where preparing to lunge at each other's throats.

"Wait! Stop!" Nick yelled.

Jason quickly glanced over at Nick and saw him looking at him, but there was something strange about it. He was looking at him too intensely, almost as if he was seeing straight into his soul, but that could only mean he was a...

"GRIMM!" Jason felt an intense fear in his heart as he looked into the eyes of the Grimm right in front of him. He started to back away but hit a wall.

Nick sighed at hearing the familiar yell, "I'm not going to hurt you Jason! I'm not that kind of Grimm," Nick said. He felt a little hurt that his own brother thought he would kill him, but quickly pushed that thought away as Monroe continued to advance on Jason.

"Monroe! Stop, that's Jason!"

"He's a Blutbad!" Monroe growled out, still a wolf.

"Yeah, I see that and he's also my brother; you know, the one you just said was awesome for saving my butt back before you did," Nick said somewhat sarcastically, but it did the trick because Monroe finally backed off and woged into his human self, standing aside while still sending glares Jason's way.

Jason stared at Nick, mouth hanging open in shock, "You're a Grimm? But how is that even possible, we lived in the same house for years! Hell, we even had bunk beds at one point!"

"Jason, you're a freaking Blutbad! Apparently us sharing bunk beds didn't exactly spell out all of our deep dark secrets, by the way, when were you planning to tell me?" Nick shot back.

"Never, and I don't regret that decision because you're a Grimm and you probably would've cut my head off!"

"Alright, that was pretty low." Nick said feeling more hurt, but now angry too. "Didn't I just tell you that I'm not that type of Grimm?!"

Jason seemed to be trying to comprehend this last piece of information, "You mean you don't cut people's heads off?"

Nick sighed, trying to keep his patience. "I mean I don't kill at all except in defense."

"Wow, I've actually never heard of a Grimm like that before… but you still have a lot of explaining to do, like what this _Abschaum _is doing here," Jason said, shooting a glare at Monroe.

"I'd watch who I'm calling 'scum' buddy, I may be weider but you never know when I can slip up," He said threateningly.

They were interrupted by a nurse with a wheelchair and the doctor coming in. "Ok Detective Burkhardt, looks like it's time for you to go home." He said completely unaware of the tension in the room.

The whole discharge process was quite painless, but Nick still wasn't feeling too comfortable. When they entered the elevator, he watched as Jason and Monroe sent silent threats with their eyes in the tight space. _What is up with them?_ Nick thought. Another problem arose when they reached Monroe's car which had been retrieved sometime when Nick was unconscious. Nick buckled himself in the passenger seat and then looked at Monroe who was sending a silent warning to Jason, who was about to get in the back. Nick had a quick flash of all three of them jammed into Monroe's tiny bug with Monroe and Jason quietly measuring each other's alphaness, which given the circumstances, is probably what is really going on. _Well, it's definitely going to be an awkward car ride, _Nick thought as both guys squeezed into the car and the hospital became smaller and smaller before fading in the distance.

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**Well I can honestly say that I never intended for this chapter to end here, but there it is. Hope you enjoyed and more into Nick's thoughts on the whole "my brother's a Blutbad!" dilemma in the next chapter along with some other unexpected surprises... **_  
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	4. Chapter 4

**And here is chapter four finally! Sorry for the wait, things have been busy lately but I have made time for this story! Anyways thank you so much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews so far. I am really quite surprised at the number of people following this story and just generally reacting to it. So please continue to review and favorite, etc. By the way, this chapter and the previous have been un-beta'd so please bear with any typos and or missing commas in quotes (Thanks for the catch Livia!:)... and on with the story!**

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The car ride was quiet; nobody wanted to break the silence. Now that his brother and friend were not trying to kill each other, Nick actually had time to properly react to the fact that his brother was a Blutbad- had been a Blutbad- for the entire time that he had known him. A brief thought crossed his mind, had his brother killed people in a wild youth like all other young Blutbaden? He quickly pushed that thought away, Monroe always described his wild years as a teenager and Nick had been there for half of Jason's teenage years. Besides, he knows the type of man that Jason is today, it doesn't matter what happened in the past. It just felt like Nick's whole world had been turned upside down… again. The first time had been when he had learned about his parent's death, then when he had learned about his Grimm heritage, and now this. He was beginning to wonder what other world shifting surprises the universe had in store for him. He was pulled from his thoughts when Monroe stopped abruptly and hit the horn at some idiot at an intersection. For the first time, Nick wondered where they were going. He guessed to his house since he doubted Monroe and all his Blutbad instincts would allow Jason in his home. His thoughts were confirmed when they turned onto his street.

Monroe parked the car and ran over to help Nick out.

He gave him an incredulous look and pushed him away, "It's only a concussion, I can walk just fine thanks." Nick proceeded to get out of the car but stood too quickly and almost got a face full of pavement. Jason caught him before he could fall, "Ah, yeah. What were you saying?" He said with a smirk while steadying Nick.

"I'm fine, geez, you're even worse than him." Nick said pointing a thumb over his shoulder at Monroe.

"Yeah, speaking of him; what are you doing hanging around with a Blutbad? They're dangerous Nick and you can't trust them."

"Excuse me?" Monroe said with a huff.

Miss Reynolds, the nosy neighbor, poked her head out of her front door and began watching the scene unfolding before her with interest. _Crap, awkwardawkwarawkwardawkwardawkward…_ "How about we take this inside" Nick suggested, trying to usher both Blutbaden inside his house.

After a lot of pushing, swearing, and a silent oath to never attempt moving multiple pouting Blutbaden again, all three of them were safely inside of Nick's living room. Finally Monroe and Jason had quit the stare down. _And…back to the silence_ Nick thought.

Jason was the first to break it. "How are you a Grimm?" he demanded

"It's a long story…"

"I'll get the beers" Monroe interrupted, leaving Nick alone with his brother.

After a pointed look from Jason, Nick continued, "You remember that Aunt I had that wasn't able to take care of me?"

"Yeah, the librarian who moved around so much you only saw her like once…wait, had?"

Nick dropped his eyes and stared at his hands resting in his lap. "Yeah, Aunt Marie showed up at my house about a year ago dying of cancer."

"Oh dude, I'm so sorry. That must've been a sucky second visit," Jason said.

"It's what she told me afterwards that made the biggest impact; I had started seeing some weird things, things that I couldn't even begin to explain at the time. I thought it was work starting to get to me, you know? But then Aunt Marie shows up telling me I'm 'one of the last Grimm's'. That's where Monroe comes in, he explained to me what a Grimm is and does, he also helped me solve my first wesen case and continues to help me today."

"Yeah don't forget he continues to save your ass weekly," Monroe added in while handing out the beers.

"Wait, you said Aunt _Marie_, as in Marie Kessler, one of the most feared Grimms of this era?" Jason asked in awe. Nick nodded, "Oh my God! Do you know how many of my nightmares have ended with her killing me?!"

"Hey, is that why you were conveniently 'locked' inside your closet the one time she showed up at the house?" Nick said smirking.

"No, dude I've already explained this to you like a million times, I thought she was a homeless lady coming to steal my stash of money hidden in the closet. So I, like any other sane person, bravely locked myself in there to fend off the hobos."

After a silent 'you are crazy' look from Nick, Monroe contributed his own experience. "You think that's scary? Try looking into her eyes about three inches away! If I wasn't a Blutbad, I'd have probably gone into cardiac arrest!" That last statement brought Nick's attention back to the matter at hand.

"So any ways, Monroe helped me understand how the world really works and has continued to help me out on some of my weirder cases."

"So he's your Yoda basically."

"My what?" Nick asked confused. "Oh my God, How have you never made him watch Star Wars?" Monroe asked appalled. "Too busy watching the superheros, man." Jason said with a shake of his head.

"So are we good, Jason?" Nick asked, afraid of the answer. Jason looked at Nick in surprise; he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Nick, we were never _not_ good. You're my brother, no matter who your Aunt was, but most importantly you're Nick and no amount of scary Grimm genes can ever change that."

Nick felt an enormous relief wash through him at Jason's words even if they were bordering the line of bromance; he never realized how much Jason's opinion mattered to him. The acceptance gave him hope, maybe once more wesen got to know him better, they would see him as Nick first and a Grimm later, maybe he had a chance of getting something similar to his old life back. All three were interrupted when they heard a loud banging at the front door.

An unfamiliar low, menacing voice yelled through the door, "Jason, I know you're in there, if you come out now I promise not to hurt your friends!"

"Crap! Man, I thought I lost them back in Wyoming!" Jason muttered, _ok, new plan_. He addressed a surprised Nick, "Hey Nick, we never really got around to talking about me being a Blutbad…"

"Open the door Jason; we're only trying to help you, I swear!" The voice yelled again.

Ignoring the angry person or persons outside of Nick's door, Jason continued in a hurried whisper, "I kinda need your help with something; specifically Grimm help would be nice."

"Who are they?" Nick demanded

"Well I only hear Jerome, but there could be more…"

The man named Jerome yelled, "Last chance, if this door isn't opened in three seconds, your friends are done for and you'll be shown the proper way Blutbaden get rid of their prey!"

"I should've known you'd brought trouble with you!" Monroe whispered angrily, "What did you do, kill someone's cousin?"

"No! I don't do that type of stuff, in fact that's why they're here; they think I haven't been raised right." Jason heard the cocking of a gun and looked to see that Nick had pulled a handgun out of some unseen place (he definitely didn't have one in his possession at the hospital) and quickly grabbed it away. "Dude, you have a concussion! Who knows what you can do with that thing!" but then he heard the door begin to be kicked down and shoved the gun back in his hands. "Actually, maybe you should have this" he said as the door was shoved open and three _big_ men appeared in the doorway. They all had the same brown color hair and ruff looking features; the man identified as Jerome was the tallest while the man on his left had a beard and ugly scar running along his cheek like he had gotten slashed with a knife. The remaining guy was the youngest, barely even categorized as a man yet, but had the same dark look in his eyes that the rest of them had.

Something tugged at the back of Nick's mind at the sight of them, but he ignored it and instead pointed his gun at the open door. "Freeze, Portland PD!" he yelled, but the intruders ignored him and kept walking closer.

"Uh, Nick? They don't seem to be listening. Maybe we should just get to the shooting part?" Monroe suggested.

Jerome took in the sight of Nick with the gun and smirked, eyes remaining cold and focused, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He gestured to the two others standing on either side of him, "If all three of us do not call home by midnight, Jason's parents will most definitely be regretting their choice in how they raised Jason."

Nick didn't like the sound of that; maintaining eye contact, he slowly lowered his spare gun and released the ammo. The magnitude of what had just been said hit him hard. They have Anthony and Christiana and they are going to hurt them unless he puts the gun down. The same thought seemed to register with Jason because the next thing Nick knew, Jason had charged at the intruders fully woged.

Jason was able to punch Jerome in the gut before the others grabbed him and pinned him to the ground. "Nick… run!" he yelled, voice muffled from having half his face forced into the carpet of Nick's living room floor.

"Nick? Nicholas Burkhardt? The human scum my sister was stupid enough to bring into her home and shelter all those years?" His cold eyes locked on Nick again, red bleeding into the light blue; this time there was recognition in his eyes, "Yeah, I remember you now, you've grown up Nicky."

With the other two guys holding Jason down, he made his way towards Nick. Monroe stepped in front of Nick, blocking him from view and woged.

"Well, looks like there's gonna be a fight gentlemen," Jerome said loudly also woging, making the other two men still holding Jason down grin darkly and change into Blutbaden, growling in anticipation.

Nick stepped out from behind Monroe and stared right into the eyes of the intruder, "You have no idea," he said then punched Jerome firmly across the jaw, making him stumble backwards.

Catching his balance, Jerome stood straight and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. Looking at Nick, he growled "Grimm" and started towards him again. This time Monroe charged in, tackling Jerome to the floor.

Out of the two men holding Jason down, the guy with the scar ran over to help Jerome and ran right into Nick who grabbed the bastard by the collar, furious. Getting a full look straight into Nick's eyes, scar guy yelped in fear. Nick shoved him against a wall and punched him in the stomach then turned them around and kicked him in the direction of his coffee table, wincing when he heard the familiar crack of his table breaking… again.

Seeing that his assailant was distracted in watching Nick kick Blutbaden butt, Jason took his chance and elbowed him in the face then scrambled to his feet, searching for some kind of weapon to use. He picked up one of Nick's broken coffee table legs and turned around just in time to parry a punch, then wacked the younger Blutbad in the head, knocking him out cold. Standing tall and feeling quite proud, Jason quickly searched the room for Nick and was surprised to see his little brother packing punches on his much bigger enemy. With a final, well placed kick, Nick left scar guy sprawled on the floor.

"Wow, I guess I can't tackle you to the floor when you're being annoying anymore," Jason said smiling at Nick.

Nick smiled back, "Never could," he said while kneeling down to handcuff the two attackers. When he stood up, he began to search the room for some sign of Monroe and Jerome, but the room was empty. "Monroe!" he called out to his empty house receiving no reply. Leaving Jason in the living room to watch over the two handcuffed Blutbaden, he searched through the rooms until he reached his back door and found it wide open. Then he felt his blood run cold, "Oh no," he muttered.

"Did you find them?" Jason called.

Nick returned to the living room with a grave expression on his face, "He took Monroe."

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**There is the review button, all you gotta do is push it. Come on, just a quick little click. Tell me your thoughts and what you think will happen next!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello faithful readers! Sorry for the long wait, things have been hectic and then a little thing called writer's block decided to embed itself in my life, but don't worry! All of your reviews, favs, and follows have helped me get out of that cold and scary place! Here is the new chapter, it is lacking action but not to worry, stuff is happening. Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a little review on the way out!**

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Nick paced in his living room trying to think of what to do next, "Jason, we have to find them."

"I know we do, but we can't shoot Jerome and we need to get him back here before midnight which is in another… eight hours; we need a plan Nick," he said watching his brother pace. "You know we don't actually know if Jerome took Monroe, it could have been the other way around." Jason said trying to look on the bright side of the situation.

Nick finally stopped pacing and looked at Jason, "Then why wouldn't Monroe come back, he should be back by now…" he said continuing his pacing. "No, we need to assume that Jerome took Monroe and we have to get them both back here in time to call back home."

Thinking of home, Jason began to think of his parents. He had just seen them a couple days ago and now they were being held hostage all because of him! A wave of guilt washed over him at that thought, he made a silent oath to help his parents and make the bastards responsible for this pay. Nick's voice broke through his dark thoughts.

"…stop by the trailer and pick up some things. Who were those guys? You said they had been following you, how did they know me?" Nick asked

"Well I guess it's my turn to tell the story. Fair warning, I suck at storytelling, just so you know…"

Nick gave a '_get on with it' _look so Jason decided to start from the beginning. "You know how I'm a Blutbad, right? Well that also means that the rest of my family are Blutbaden too, except I'm a weider Blutbad and they're not."

Nick waited patiently for the rest, but decided to do a little prompting. "So those guys were…"

"Jerome is my uncle on my Mother's side and the two other guys sitting over there are my cousins. That's Aidan and the younger one is Oliver." He said pointing out the still unconscious men. "And they know you because when they had found out that the Moore family had acquired a new pack member, they paid a visit to welcome the newest Blutbad to the family. Of course when they came and smelled human in the house, they realized that you were not a Blutbad and kind of had a fit. I remember my Dad had to get Jerome out of the house before you saw anything, but I made sure you wouldn't; I pushed you into the coat closet right before he woged." Jason said smiling at the memory, but his smile slowly died away. "My uncle is very old school; doesn't believe in the mixing of breeds, especially human… but I guess he definitely got a shock now that you're a Grimm."

"I don't think I would describe him as being 'shocked,' more 'I was angry before, but now I'm really pissed off'."

Jason stood up, "You're probably right, so now that you've got most of the story, what do you say we find your friend?"

Nick nodded in agreement but then saw Oliver and Aidan. "What should we do with them? Can't let them get away while we're gone."

Jason looked at Nick and smirked, "I can think of a place to put them."

* * *

Nick finally locked the closet door; it had taken a lot of work to fit the two guys into the tiny space. After five seconds of attempted fireman carrying, they decided to just give up and roll them into the closet. When that was done, they got into Nick's car and started driving.

"So what's the plan again?" Jason asked after a couple minutes of driving.

Nick pondered quietly for a second, "When we get back to the house, you're going to try and see if you can pick up either Monroe's or Jerome's scent, then we're going to track them, but before we do that, I need to pick up a few things."

_Well that was annoyingly vague, _Jason thought,"What do you need to pick up?" he asked.

"I'm going to get a few weapons that I can use instead of a gun." Nick answered, trying to choose his words carefully. He didn't want to freak Jason out again with springing Marie's trailer on him. There's no guarantee that everyone will react the same way Monroe did when finding a trailer packed with multiple killing devices specifically for wesen.

"Cool… where are these weapons?" Jason saw Nick's face close off and thought that he might not want to know the answer, but then Nick replied, his voice lower than before. "Somewhere that no one can know about." He parked the car and turned to look Jason straight in the eyes. "Jason, you can't tell anyone about what I'm going to show you. Can I count on you?" Jason shuddered at what he saw in Nick's eyes. He wasn't talking to his little brother anymore; he was talking to the Grimm. "Of course, you know you can trust me," Jason answered. With a nod, Nick got out of the car and after a couple seconds, Jason followed. He saw Nick standing a few feet away holding the door of an old trailer open. Stopping right before the steps leading into the trailer, Jason looked at Nick. "Is what I'm about to see going to freak me out, cause you've got this look…"

"Probably, but I hope not." Nick said, his face remaining impassive.

With a preparatory breath, he stepped into the trailer… and was not very impressed. "Dude, there's only a bunch of books in here. I know I used to hate the sight of them when I was in school but I got over that."

Nick stepped in and headed straight for a big, wooden cabinet; when he opened the double doors, a green light spilled over Nick's features. Curious, Jason walked closer and looked inside.

"HOLY CRAP!" Everything made sense now; the books, the mystery… the weapons. He knew where he was, he just never believed it existed. Sure he had heard rumors, but this just blew his mind. He was freaking out, definitely freaking out; he was in every wesen's worst nightmare, all wrapped up in a mobile trailer. _Ok, don't panic, _he looked at Nick and instead of seeing the Grimm trying to kill him, he saw his little brother staring with a worried expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked.

Jason began the process of calming down with a few deep breaths. He was not facing a terrifying Grimm straight from his nightmares, he was facing a man who at one point in his life, started drinking coffee just because it made him feel like a grown up. Yeah, he wasn't freaking out anymore. "I'm fine, and you should probably hurry up, the scent weakens with time." He watched as Nick hid a small knife in a belt sheath by his gun and then grabbed a crossbow with a couple arrows. Knowing that the crossbow was used for killing Blutbaden made Jason shudder but he ignored that thought and with a nod from Nick, gladly exited the trailer of doom.

* * *

The ride back to Nick's house was filled with a certain tension that hadn't been felt since the ride from the hospital. Jason wasn't sure if it was due to the lack of conversation or the fact that the Grimm he used to tease was now armed and determined. Either way, he decided the tension had to be broken. "So, that trailer back there… compliments of good old Aunt Marie?"

Nick switched his windshield wipers up a speed. "It was really more of an inheritance, but yeah, compliments of Aunt Marie."

Jason had stopped listening and instead was staring out the window at the falling rain with a grim expression. "When did it start raining Nick?"

Nick looked over, confused. "I don't know, since we got out of the trailer I think. Why?"

"Rain washes away scent." Jason said putting his head in his hands.

The only response Nick gave was to step on the gas.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone, I have created another chapter purely for your enjoyment! Looking at past chapters, I have realized that I write really short ones... I'll try to change that in the future, but as of now, they will remain as baby chapters. One day they'll grow up... anyways, thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and favs. It truly brightens my day whenever I see that little email from Fanfiction sitting in my email account! So enough from me, here is Chapter 6!**

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When they arrived at the house, Nick and Jason rushed towards the back door and into the backyard where Jason immediately began scenting the air.

"Sorry man, I'm not catching anything besides the smell of raccoons."

"Damn it!" Nick started up the pacing again, "I knew we should have started looking for them right away."

Jason grabbed Nick's shoulders to stop him from pacing. "We needed a plan; don't worry, we'll find them. I might be able to get the scent better as a Blutbad though."

He woged and started sniffing again, "Got them." He growled out after a couple minutes and then took off running, Nick close behind. When Jason didn't stop running Nick began to regret not taking the car, but after a couple breaks and some wrong turns, they finally ended up at the edge of a forest. "They're close." Jason said, walking into the forest. Nick readied his crossbow and followed close behind him, looking through the moss covered trees for any sign of movement. Everything was quiet, like the calm before the storm; not even the birds were singing. Nick felt an eerie feeling wash over him the further they walked into the forest. _'Trust your instincts and nothing else'_ Aunt Marie had told him, and right now his instincts were telling him that they were not alone. He could imagine the glowing eyes hidden behind bushes watching them walk deeper and deeper into the dense forest.

It also didn't help that the sun could be seen slowly setting along the horizon. They were running out of time and who knows what Jerome could have done to Monroe in the hour it took for them to begin searching for him. He could only hope that Monroe had been strong enough to protect himself; after the first time he got beat up by those reapers, Nick had promised himself that he would never put Monroe in that type of danger again, yet here they are, wandering through the woods trying to find him. Nick felt a cold realization when he thought about how all the people he got close to were at some point in danger, just like Aunt Marie had said. He couldn't think like that though, he can't just push away the people he loves, the only thing he can do is try his best to protect them from his enemies. They both stopped walking when a twig snapped up ahead. Jason pointed to the direction the sound had come from and mouthed '_over there'. _Nick aimed his crossbow and squinted against the growing darkness, but didn't see anything. He started to relax and lowered his weapon a fraction, then he heard a voice call out from the darkness.

"Good to see you using your nose Jason. Everything is so much easier when we embrace our true nature, aren't they?"

Nick recognized Jerome's voice and yelled, "Come out with your hands where I can see them!"

"I don't think so," Jerome said, stepping out of the shadows. To Nick and Jason's horror, he was holding a knife to a half conscious Monroe's throat.

Nick trained his crossbow on Jerome, "Let him go!"

Jerome seemed to think for a second, "No, how about you drop your weapon and I might reconsider killing your friend and traitor parents."

Nick stared defiantly at Jerome; there was no way he was going to be disarmed twice in one day by the same person, but then Jerome dug his knife deeper into Monroe's throat, drawing blood. Seeing no choice, Nick placed his weapon for the second time on the ground and kicked it into a couple of bushes.

"That's better. Now, let's discuss how we are going to fix this dilemma you've put me in." He said, looking at Nick, "You see the original plan was just to turn this boy here into a proper Blutbad." He nodded towards Jason, "but now that I know my family has been sheltering a Grimm all these years, well, you can see how that changes things." He said keeping the knife close on Monroe's throat. "So this is what we are going to do." His cold eyes turned to look at Jason, "You're going to fight and kill this Grimm in the name of all our murdered ancestors. If you don't, the traitors will die."

The air seemed to drop ten degrees colder. Nobody said anything; Jerome looked from Jason to Nick, "Well?"

Jason turned to look at Nick and felt his stomach fill with dread. He couldn't kill his own brother! There had to be another way to save everyone, he tried to communicate this to Nick silently, but he could only see fierce determination in his eyes.

"We can do this." Nick murmured, he was not going to let anyone else he loved die. Not if he could stop it.

"No Nick! This is not like when we were kids… this time it's real." There was no way Jason was going to do this. No way.

"I'm running out of patience. Decide quickly." Jerome said.

Nick's head snapped back to Jason, voice coming in a rushed whisper. "Come on, we can do this." He could see in Jason's eyes that there was no way this was going to happen. Nick tried a different approach. "Jason, do you trust me?"

Jason looked surprised, "Of course I do."

"Then just do this…trust me."

Jason still didn't look convinced. "IF YOU DON'T KILL HIM NOW I WILL SLIT THIS ONE'S THROAT!" Jerome yelled.

Jason turned back to Nick, unresolved worry in his eyes. He could only see bravery in his brother's face but with a quick listen, could hear his heart beating a mile a minute. Nick gave a small nod to show he was ready and then Jason lunged for his brother's throat.

* * *

**Whelp, there's definitely a lot of trust going around in this story. I know I kinda left you guys hanging on this one... but the next chapter will be out shortly. So please drop me a review with any thoughts and enjoy your week!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Why hello good people of Fanfiction! Beautiful day out today, I was actually hoping for some snow, but it seems fate just keeps saying 'No snow for you!' So I will accept fate's word and let you guys get on to the story. As always thanks so much for all reviews, favs, and follows. They are greatly, _greatly _appreciated. Righting the cliffhanger... Enjoy Chapter 7!**

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Nick saw Jason jump towards him, sharp teeth aimed at his throat and quickly rolled out of the way. He had to think up a plan; he would give his life for the people he loved, but he had no intention of dying tonight. Not like this. Jason swiped at him with his claws, nearly gutting him. _That was a close one,_ _gotta be more careful… and think of something fast, _he thought while dodging another swipe. He could feel his Grimm instincts taking over just as the trickles of an idea began to form but before it could become something he was comfortable with calling a plan, Jason had tackled him to the ground.

Jason heard Nick's head crack on something that could only be a rock and inwardly cringed; he couldn't help thinking, _crap! Sorry sorry sorry! _Especially when he saw Nick's eyes become unfocused and cross slightly. He was starting to feel his trust in Nick dwindle, even more so when he remembered the nasty concussion Nick had received just the night before. The blow to the head didn't seem to faze him for long though because just when Jason was trying to think of a way to get Nick out of there and to a hospital, he received a punch in the stomach that knocked his breath out and then was pushed off of Nick.

Gasping for air, he looked over at an already standing Nick with surprise and what he saw chilled him to the bone. An intense dread spread through his body causing his muscles to tighten and his senses to sharpen. His eyes, he could understand now why so many wesen fear Grimms. He felt like he was looking into the eyes of a man made of pure evil. It wasn't like earlier when he had seen Nick beat up a couple of wesen, oh no, this was completely different. He could feel his natural 'fight or flight' instincts take over and his mind shift as he looked into the terrifying eyes of the Grimm that both made him want to rip someone's arms off and hide under his blankets like a child. In some small part of his mind, he realized that he was losing his pristine control and that his actions would have severe consequences, like death, but the stronger part- the wolf- wasn't going to take the chance of being killed by the Grimm. With his vision slowly tinting a dark red, he did what came naturally and grabbed the Grimm by the jacket and shoved him into a nearby tree, making the whole thing quiver with the force.

Seeing that dazed look in his prey's eyes again gave the wolf confidence and he slashed the Grimm's chest with his claws, enjoying the low yell and view of dark red blood that accompanied it. He had never once imagined that the feeling of his claws cutting through skin could feel so good. His hand seemed to shoot out of nowhere and wrap around the Grimm's throat and he started to squeeze. The Grimm gave a loud gasp and grabbed at his arms, trying to break his grip but the wolf just squeezed harder, staring into the eyes of his enemy. Red eyes met hazel and he felt a small flicker of recognition. For a second, he was looking at the scared little boy he had taken under his wing and protected as if they were the same blood. He was brought back to the present though when those hazel eyes disappeared behind rapidly closing eyelids. Then silence. No sounds could be heard except for the faint rustling of the forest trees from the wind. Sniffing the air curiously, Jason froze in confusion; the Grimm that should smell of pure enemy had an underlying scent. One that made Jason's hand stop squeezing and actually slacken. The Grimm smelled like pack.

_What am I doing? _Horror began to close around his mind, he could feel his human side trying to regain control of his actions but the wolf was resisting. It was almost like being stuck in a nightmare where you could see terrible things happening around you but do nothing to stop it. He watched as Nick's grip on his arm slowly started to weaken and then fall away. That's when he started to panic, what if he ends up killing Nick, _him!_ Nick's hazel eyes fluttered closed and Jason felt a new determination course through him. His father's words from his first woge ran through his mind, _'Never lose yourself. Always retain control.'_ With a spurt of strength, he was able to gain the upper hand, successfully beating the wolf and regaining control. With the wolf momentarily locked safely away, Jason stopped whatever pressure was still left on Nick's throat, and gently lowered him to the ground. Nick's eyes did not open and he lay completely still.

* * *

At first, Jason felt numb looking at Nick's body; blood was seeping from the three long claw marks running across his chest and his throat had the beginnings of a gigantic hand-like bruise forming. Enormous guilt and sorrow washed over him at the realization of what he had done. Feeling a hand squeeze his shoulder, he looked up to see Jerome looking down at him with something that could only be called pride gleaming in his twisted eyes.

"Well done Jason, you've made your ancestors proud." He said while leaning down to inspect Nick further.

He reached a clawed finger out towards the scratches on Nick's chest but didn't get very far; Nick's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, eyes flying open. He slipped his hidden knife out from his belt with his right hand and reaching over himself, stabbed Jerome in the shoulder all in a matter of seconds.

Jerome, howling and stumbling away from Nick, ran straight into Monroe who had regained consciousness halfway through the fight and was looking really pissed off. He grabbed him and shoved him face first to the floor.

"If you make even one move, I swear I will not hesitate in proving just how effective we modern Blutbaden are." Monroe said holding the knife that had just been held against his throat to Jerome's other shoulder.

With that taken care of, Jason looked back down at Nick in shock. "How did you…" he trailed off when he saw Nick slowly sit up, holding his chest. "I said to trust me didn't I?" Nick said looking to weakly smirk at Jason.

After just a couple more seconds of open mouthed staring, Jason slowly smiled back and held out his hand to help Nick stand, "Last time I am ever trusting a Grimm."

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**There it is. Hope that wasn't too choppy, the transitions between different mind sets were kind of difficult to write, so as always, leave a review to tell me what you think!:)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello faithful readers! I'm sooo sorry for such a long wait! There were so many roads this story could have taken and I wrote up like three different ways this could have gone, but I eventually settled for this way where the whole event is explained in the present instead of Nick seeing it in a flashback or something less dangerous happening... anyways, the snow was an unbelievable help because I pretty much just had to stay at home for danger of dying on the ice. So don't kill me snow haters, just saying that snow is beautiful and it helped get this story written:D. **

**Now, official warning. There will be much Nick whump in this chapter. In fact there will be so much whumping on Nick that you guys will probably be like "seriously?! He got punched in the face AGAIN?"...What can I say? Nick is a great character to beat up on, he takes it so well. Now some good news (hopefully), my baby chapters have matured into teenagers! I don't want to call them full on drinking adults yet because I don't know what your guy's definition of "long" is. Speaking of long, sorry for such a long author's note, but things need discussing and thanks must be made! Thank you so much to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. I'm almost a little worried about how I have seemed to become addicted to reviews...they truly make me feel more confident and inspire to write more. So thanks a lot guys, hope for many more. Well that's enough from me, enjoy Chapter 8!**

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After searching just about every one of Jerome's pockets, Jason finally found his phone. He breathed out a small sigh of relief; using Jerome's phone would just make everything a hell of a lot easier. "It's time for you to make a call." He threw the phone into Jerome's lap.

Jerome looked at his phone for a few seconds then slowly met Jason's gaze. "And what if I don't?"

A deep flash of anger tore through Jason's body and the next thing he knew, he was holding Jerome at the throat. "You will make the call!" Jason growled in a low voice ringing with authority.

Gagging, he picked up the phone. Jason let go of Jerome's throat but stayed close. Jerome's gaze lingered on him and he raised an eyebrow, a spike of interest in his eyes as he dialed. "Hey…yeah, they got me. They've got a Grimm on their side so don't kill the traitors…"

Jason took the phone. "Bring my parents to Forest Park in thirty minutes tops or Jerome dies."

"_How do I know you won't just kill him then ambush me? No way am I that stupid. I'm not going unless you can insure me Jerome's safety."_

That voice sounded very familiar. "We'll do a trade off when you get here. My parents for Jerome." There was a pause while the other line seemed to be thinking his proposition through. "Thirty minutes" he reminded again.

"_I'll be there."_

The line went dead. Pocketing the phone, he made sure to handcuff Jerome again then went over to where Monroe was trying to create a bandage of Nick's shirt to wrap up the still bleeding scratches on his chest. Nick was sitting against a tree, his eyes closed and lines of pain standing out against his face as Monroe tied the bandage adding a little pressure to help stop the bleeding but not enough to cut off circulation. He could already see some of the blood seeping through the makeshift bandage and felt something-no, some one- stir in him.

For a split second, he could remember how good it felt to run his claws through human flesh, but just as quickly as the thought appeared, it was gone. He glanced at Monroe who was wiping Nick's blood off his hands with the spare scraps left from his shirt. He watched as the other Blutbad's eyes flashed red and tensed ready for anything, but just like with him, Monroe seemed to expel that thought. Pack members would never openly hurt each other after all. Jason clenched his teeth at the thought of Nick being in another's pack as well as his own, but then forced himself to relax with a wisdom-filled thought of _now is not the time._

"Well, it's gonna need a couple of stitches, I can tell you that, but you should be okay for now." Monroe said, finally standing up from his crouched position in front of Nick. He paused in his examination. "Hey, where'd your Burdock root go?" With a quick search, he picked up what looked to him like a piece of wood and turned a suspicious eye towards Nick who somehow was able to still look innocent in his pained grimace. "Dude, I told you to chew on this. I mean normally I would just rinse that cut but right now this is the only thing we have handy that will prevent infection."

Nick closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tree, a quiet "It tastes terrible." being his only justification.

"Wow, this coming from a guy who drinks crappy beer and tasteless coffee, I must say I am shocked. Just chew the damn thing so I won't have to carry you to the hospital again." He held the Burdock root out to Nick who accepted it with a low sigh.

Jason watched him chew on it for a couple of seconds, took in the grimace and the fine layer of sweat on his face most likely left over from the pain he just experienced and felt guiltier than ever. This was the first time he had ever lost control- a rather surprising feat considering the Blutbaden norm- and he couldn't think of any worse way it could have happened. Being raised Weider, it was always his fear of hurting those around him, an even bigger fear of hurting his family. Now that fear has become a reality. He cleared his throat, breaking the silence. They needed a plan, but first this had to be voiced. "Nick, I am so sorry. You're the last person I ever wanted to see get hurt, especially by me."

Nick opened his eyes and looked over at him with surprise. "Don't worry about it Jason, I'll be fine." He said while spitting out the Burdock root.

Jason shot Nick an incredulous look. "Are you serious? You just got tackled by a fully fanged and instinct-crazed Blutbad who not only tore your chest open but most likely killed many, much needed brain cells by smashing your already concussioned head on some rocks and you think your fine?!" he paused to take a deep breath and stared at a spot of green moss on the forest floor. "I could have killed you Nick." He said in a softer and much sadder voice. "I should have been stronger. I should have stayed in control. I should never have trusted _myself._"

Nick watched him with a blank expression for a couple of seconds, and then slowly stood up, using the tree for support. "Jason, you are one of the strongest people I know. Just because you lost control once while being attacked by an instinct-crazed Grimm doesn't mean you're not the same person you where thirty minutes ago. You felt threatened and you reacted, it's as simple as that… and I really will be okay."

But that was the problem. Even though he was in control now, he could still feel the wolf's presence prowling just below the surface. He felt changed in a way he had never felt before and it scared him, but that was something that would have to be dealt with later. Right now, he had to help his swaying little brother sit down before he fell down. "Alright, heart-to-heart has been made, now sit the hell down! Geez, how masochistic are you Grimm's?"

"Dude, you have no idea." Monroe said while giving Nick a disapproving look complete with raised eyebrows. Nick rolled his eyes and picked up the Burdock root, chewing on one end. "So what's the plan?"

"We have thirty minutes before the guy who's keeping my parents gets here. I figured it would be best if he came to us instead of us going to him."

Nick nodded in agreement. "Yeah good thinking, that way we have better control of the situation. I'm thinking that we should probably set up some safety measures for worst case scenario though." He said, waiting for signs of approval from his friends.

Both Jason and Monroe looked at each other, then at Nick. "Well, you're the detective…"

"Fine, what does this guy already know about us, Jason?"

"Jerome told him that he was being held captive, not to kill my parents, and that we had a Grimm on our side."

Nick thought carefully. "Well there goes my element of surprise; this can also make him be more prone for a fight knowing there's a Grimm most likely waiting to kill him…" he looked at Jason. "How did the tone of his voice sound? Was he calm, angry, slightly eccentric?"

Jason thought back to the familiar voice he heard. "He sounded a little paranoid and scared, but I mean he just learned that the leader of the mission was captured _and_ that there was a Grimm involved. Who wouldn't be scared at that point?"

"Alright so we know that he already may be doubting his own capabilities, meaning that he will most likely do something desperate. Like threatening to kill his hostages unless we hand back Jerome." He thought quietly for a few seconds more then looked at Monroe. "Monroe, I need you to go out about forty feet from here and wait for them to come, we need to trap them in. You're going to stay behind them the whole time and in case anything goes wrong, like him not handing them over, then I need you to be able to intervene without him knowing until the last second. Hopefully he'll be too preoccupied with keeping an eye on me and Jason that he won't smell you right away."

"I can do that, no problem." Monroe said, nodding.

"Good." Nick watched as Monroe began to walk away when something occurred to him. "Hey Monroe… be careful. We don't know if he's alone or not and we need to be ready for any unpleasant surprises this guy brings."

Monroe nodded once then disappeared into the darkness. Nick stood and retrieved his crossbow from the bushes, arming it. "Let's get ready."

* * *

Jason stood in his position holding Jerome and waited for their guest to arrive. Damn, why didn't he set a timer or at least check the time on his phone; he was pretty sure the thirty minutes were up already. He looked back at Nick for reassurance who was a couple of feet away leaning against a tree, crossbow at the ready. He gave a slight nod. _How reassuring_, Jason thought while turning back around to face the dark forest. The silence was suddenly broken by Jerome who was still watching him with a curious expression. "I've still won you know."

Jason didn't look at him. "What the hell are you talking about? You're the one who's handcuffed with the Grimm who I was supposed to kill training an arrow at the back of your head."

"I mean that you're no longer weak. You're stronger, more aware of what you're capable of. You're an Alpha Blutbad now. Untamable and hungry for his first kill."

Jason's heart pounded in his chest. It sucked that Jerome could probably hear it too. "Shut up."

"And now that your Alpha Blutbad is awake, it's gonna take a hell of a lot to take it down."

"I said shut the hell up!" Jason said through his teeth, tightening his grip on the back of Jerome's jacket.

"Jason!" Nick said, a warning tone in his voice clearly saying to not lose focus.

About to reply back with a question of whether or not anyone would mind if Jerome was forced to stop talking, as in out cold, Jason froze. He heard footsteps, and not just one pair of footsteps. Nick seemed to hear them too because he heard what he could only assume was the rapid upswing of his crossbow aiming. That's weird, humans shouldn't be able to hear them at this distance, he needs to remember to ask Nick about that sometime.

After about ten more minutes, Jason can finally see his parents walking side-by-side through the trees into their little area. Both of their hands are tied together in front of them with chains, there's duck tape over their mouths, and they look like they haven't changed clothes in over a week, but besides that, they don't appear to be hurt too badly. He relaxes and let's go a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding. Now that he knew they weren't physically tortured or something, he could focus on other things like who the bastard was that had been keeping them locked up all this time.

He looked past his parents and felt his breath catch in his throat. The person who was holding the chain keeping his parents bound was a friendly face; it was none other than his best friend Mason. A deep feeling of betrayal spread through his heart. Mason had been his best friend since grade school, he heard Nick's quick intake of breath and guessed that Nick remembered him as well. Back when Nick was still in Rhinebeck, they would all get together at least once a week and even after Nick left, Jason still met with him. He knew that Mason's family was a bit old fashioned, but he never thought his friend felt this strongly about it. Mason was honestly the last person he ever expected would be involved in something like this; he expected it to be some distant family member like his cousins Aidan and Oliver, not his best friend.

"Hey Jason, how've ya been?" Mason said smiling like it was just another Saturday night to order pizza and hang out. His gaze shifted, searching the area carefully and his eyes focused on Nick.

"Hey Nick, long time no see." His eyes landed on the crossbow trained at the back of Jerome's head. "I guess police work has made you pretty confident for you to be using that antique." Nick's only response was to glare over the top of his crossbow.

Mason's eyes flickered to Jerome quickly and then back to searching. "Where's the Grimm."

Jason smiled inwardly; this was the one good thing about Mason being the last man standing right now. He may have been his best friend, but he definitely was not the smartest Blutbad in the world. He gestured with a nod in Nick's direction and had the satisfaction of watching Mason's eyes widen in confusion, then realization, and finally fear. It sure was enjoyable to watch some poor other guy realize that the puny kid he once used to hang out with was actually the blood chilling monster from his nightmares.

"No way." He mumbled and quickly looked at Jerome who just nodded in either confirmation or agreement, Jason couldn't tell.

"Alright, great reunion now let my parents go and you can get Jerome back." Jason said looking at his parents and seeing their eyes widened in alarm. Crap! That was not really the way he had planned to break the news that their foster son was a Grimm. Oh well, there will have to be more tact later, right now he was hoping that that was actually the reason for their alarm and they weren't just trying to warn him about something.

"You're right Jason; it's time for everything to go back to normal isn't it." Mason said with a sneer. He patted Anthony on the back hard enough that he was pushed forward slightly.

"Hey! Just calm down." Jason said getting Jerome to stand on his feet to make the trade. From the corner of his eye, he could see Nick walking closer; his crossbow trained on Mason. Waiting until Nick was level with him, he noticed that he didn't seem to have any of the weakness or be suffering as much pain as before. Hmmm… another thing to add to the 'Ask Nick Later' list.

They counted off, then Jerome and his parents both started walking opposite each other completing a circle to get to their destination. Jason held his breath watching his parents walk, this was the critical moment. If anything went wrong now then his parents would be in the crossfire… of course Jerome would be too, but that didn't matter to him that much.

After what seemed like ten minutes compared to thirty seconds, his parents were at last standing safely at his side. He finally just breathed and knew the relief was showing on his face but just didn't care enough to hide it anymore. He looked into his Mom and Dad's faces and saw the same mirrored relief.

Everything seemed to be going great until he heard a slight gasp coming from the area where Nick had been standing and running footsteps. By the time he could look around, the clinging sound of Nick's crossbow followed with the loud bang of a gun being fired was already echoing throughout the forest. Two different yells sounded in the darkness, one was a scream full of pain and the other more of a yelp followed by a groan. His ears still ringing from the gunshot, he searched with his eyes through the darkness and saw two figures lying on the forest floor.

His heart skipped a beat, he let go of his parents and ran over to where the smaller figure was lying. "No, no, no..." he mumbled, falling to his knees by Nick's head. "No, come on!"

Nick's eyes were closed. Jason could hear some strange ripping noise in the distance but ignored it and quickly started to gently feel along his torso for any new lacerations, pausing when he found a hole in his left shoulder area. Nick needed to wake up now.

"Nick! Nick, wake up!" he started patting his brother's face. "Come on, buddy wake up."

Finally Nick opened his eyes, looking at the sky with slightly unfocused eyes. Jason grabbed his face and Nick seemed to realize he was there, eyes focusing on him weakly. Then Nick did probably the most stupidest thing he'd done in the past 24 hours. He tried to sit up.

"Ow… okay that hurts." He said, allowing himself to be lowered back down to the forest floor, head resting in Jason's lap.

"No way idiot, you just got shot." Jason remembered something from sophomore health class about how you were not supposed to tell the victim exactly what kind of wound they had to keep them calm, but he was not good with beating around the bush…or tact. He heard multiple footsteps running towards where they were laying and then Monroe was kneeling on the other side of Nick and his parents where right behind him.

"God, Nick!" Monroe muttered, inspecting Nick's gunshot wound.

Nick stared at Monroe for longer than what was necessary. Jason was about to ask what Nick was looking at when he attempted to say a sentence. "You've got blood on…on your face."

It was true; Monroe was actually covered in blood. Jason looked back towards the area where Mason and Jerome were standing and saw two figures lying on the ground. Well that takes care of that.

"I'll tell you later, don't worry about it. Right now, we got to make sure that the bullet made it out of you. It doesn't look like it hit any major arteries or you'd be bleeding out by now." He gripped Nick's sides. "We gotta turn you buddy."

Nick furrowed his brow and just nodded. Very carefully, both Jason and Monroe helped Nick lean onto his right side. To Monroe's relief, he could see the exit wound on the back of Nick's left shoulder. Now came the hard part.

"We need to call for an ambulance now." Monroe told Jason and his parents. "But first we need to get out of this forest and away from the bodies."

"How are we going to carry Nick?" Christiana asked in a quiet voice.

"I can walk, just give me a second." Nick said, catching his breath from the roll. Then to everyone's shock, well mostly Jason's parents at this point, Nick slowly stood with Monroe's help. He looked like he was in a fair amount of pain, but Monroe put Nick's right arm around his shoulders and they started making their way towards the entrance of the forest.

On the way out, Jason caught sight of Jerome and Mason. Both were dead, Mason had an arrow sticking out of his chest right in his heart and Jerome was pretty much mauled to death. That would explain Monroe's horror movie appearance then. They would definitely have to come back and take care of the bodies before someone else found them, but first Nick had to be taken care of. He'd also have to ask Nick later about what happened, another thing to add to the list, but for now he just dug out his cell phone and called for an ambulance, praying to God that Nick had some excuse for why his friend looked like he just took a chainsaw to somebody and a reason for why he would be visiting the hospital once again.

* * *

The walk through the forest was exactly the way Nick thought it would be like with a bullet wound in his shoulder, not that he imagined what that would feel like too often. Both his shoulder and chest were on fire, his whole body felt like one big bruise, and his head was pulsing like crazy. The trees were starting to sway and he felt very lightheaded, but he had to keep going. Leaning into Monroe more, he let out a light groan.

"Hang in there buddy, we're almost there." Monroe looked at him with a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Hey Monroe, I'm sorry." Nick said, his voice starting to slur.

Monroe didn't like hearing that slur again; man, that doctor was going to kill him.

"What are you talking about, man?"

"I made you fall off your Weider Blutbad wagon."

"No you didn't. I'm fine; don't worry about me right now, just keep walking." Monroe could see an opening in the trees and could already hear the sirens.

"No, I've been disrupting your life since I first arrested you."

Wow, now he has a guilt trip. What the hell did Jason have on his claws to make Nick spout out all this crap? Then he felt Nick's legs collapse under him, he scrambled to catch him before he could fall.

"Oh no…Nick!" Come on, come on, come on… Almost there! That was not going to be the last thing he and Nick talked about! Finally, he broke through the last bit of trees and found the EMT's all ready with a stretcher. He laid Nick down and jumped into the back of the ambulance, he could see Jason and his parents getting checked out by some other EMT's. He didn't know whether they would all be going to the hospital, they probably would. Who knows what kind of stuff Jason's parents went through when they were being held by those lunatics. He looked at Nick who was already being treated; his eyes slid open for a second and then slid shut. _He'll be okay; he's a Grimm after all._ Was the last thing Monroe thought before they slammed the ambulance door shut and they sped towards the hospital.

* * *

**A lot of guilt in this chapter, so there it is. Once again, any thoughts, concerns, questions? **


End file.
